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Anti-Govt Agitation

Tarique takes lead role from London

Rashidul Hasan
BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman is now in-charge of the 18-party opposition alliance's agitation against the government, insiders say.
This came as he apparently got disappointed with the party senior leaders' failure in making the anti-government movement
a success and their tactic to go into hiding to evade arrest.
An assistant office secretary of BNP who has contact with Tarique, now living in London, told The Daily Star that Tarique, elder son of the party Chairperson Khaleda Zia, had formed a new working group composed of his trusted men to convey his instructions to the party rank and file.
"Besides, the process of setting up regional offices in Bangkok, Singapore and Malaysia is going in
full swing to help run party activities from London," a senior leader of BNP said last night.
Wishing anonymity, he said setting up of one or two offices would be completed within four to five days.
Another senior leader of the party also admitted Tarique's initiative to lead the agitation against the government.
For the time being, Khaleda's Gulshan office is coordinating communication between Tarique and the party.
Referring to Tarique's video message released Sunday on YouTube, a BNP leader yesterday said: "His speech indicates that Bhaiya [Tarique] is fed up with the senior lead-
ers, who had been leading the anti-government movement since 2011 to have the 10th parliamentary polls held under a non-party administration.
"He thinks the party high-ups have failed to put effective pressure on the government to have the January 5 election deferred and that the decision of going into hiding by some senior leaders, including BNP acting secretary general, has weakened and demoralised the opposition men."
In his 10-minute a press conference in London, Tarique said, “A government that has assumed power through a farcical election is
definitely not legal. I see no reason to have further talks with it."
Meanwhile, Tarique's speech totally contradicted with BNP leader Osman Faruk's statement at a press briefing the previous day.
There had called upon the government to immediately sit in a dialogue with the opposition to hold a free, fair and inclusive election.
BNP insiders said Tarique was closely monitoring the performance of the party senior leaders. He had recently expressed frustration with some top leaders for their decision to give breaks to the movement.
In an immediate reaction after Sunday's
general election in Bangladesh, he also said the opposition's movement would continue unless their demand was met.
Mentioning that more than 20 people had been killed on the election day, Tarique said, "The attacks on people has saddened me. But to make such sacrifice count, we will have to reach our goal at any cost."
Asked, he said he was unable to take part in the ongoing movement, as he was still undergoing treatment in London.
The BNP senior vice-chairman said due to the farcical polls, there was now no government; rather it was an "anti-people, autocratic
power against the people".
To the law enforcers and administrative officers who were on election duty, he said, “You saw the government's malpractice. Now ask your conscience who you are working for and against. Are you loyal to a government that lacks people's support or to the people oppressed?"
On the election eve of January 4, Tarique in another video message had urged the people to resist Sunday's election at any cost. He also asked the opposition men not to wait for instructions but unite and join the agitation against the government.